T38 studio: PH4 house, tijuana

‘PH4 house’ by T38 studio and pablo casals-aguirre, tijuana, mexicoimage © alfonso medina, oscar gonzalez, alfredo zertucheall images courtesy of T38 studio

built for an elderly couple living in tijuana, mexico, the ‘PH4 house’ designed by international firm T38 studio in collaboration with chilean architect pablo casals-aguirre finds itself in the middle of a slender triangular site flanked by neighbors on all sides. the forms, long rectangular volumes with a slight angle, are born from the shape of the plot, stacked upon each other and mirrored, creating a seven-meter cantilever over the garden that wraps the entire dwelling. the lower mass is a concrete shear wall structure with a facade defined largely by full-height glass panels, developing a strong connection to the exterior. being a mature couple, most of the program was placed in the ground floor for ease of access, with a guest bedroom and study in the upper construction made of an inhabitable metal truss anchored into the concrete and painted red to contrast the lower area. a centrally located cantilevering staircase provides the vertical circulation, contrasted with the warmth of the hardwood flooring.

exterior garden wraps around the entire residenceimage © alfonso medina, oscar gonzalez, alfredo zertuche

image © alfonso medina, oscar gonzalez, alfredo zertuche

glass walls open views and space to the exteriorimage © alfonso medina, oscar gonzalez, alfredo zertuche

cantilevering concrete stairsimage © alfonso medina, oscar gonzalez, alfredo zertuche

image © alfonso medina, oscar gonzalez, alfredo zertuche

upstairsimage © alfonso medina, oscar gonzalez, alfredo zertuche

steel structure resting on the concrete baseimage © alfonso medina, oscar gonzalez, alfredo zertuche

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level 1

roof plan

elevation

elevation

axonometric